Butler women, Coffeyville men win regionals, advance to national juco tournaments
The two Kansas representatives in the 2020 NJCAA Division I basketball tournaments have been decided.
The Butler County Community College women and Coffeyville men won the NJCAA Region VI tournaments in Dodge City on Tuesday. The Butler women are heading to Lubbock, Texas, and the Coffeyville men will stay in Kansas and compete in Hutchinson.
Coffeyville beat Butler 83-81 in the men’s regional championship on a buzzer-beater as sophomore Tony Hutson threw a inbounds lob to forward Meikkel Murray, who put it off the glass for the game-winner.
Murray finished with a team-high 15 points in the win, and the Red Ravens out-rebounded Butler 41-30 with eight more assists and four fewer turnovers.
The Region VI title is the third for Coffeyville (26-8) in the past four seasons. It marks the Red Ravens’ fourth straight trip to the national tournament and 11th under coach Jay Herkelman.
“What a great team effort from the guys,” Herkelman said in a release. “To have the toughness to fight through the fatigue and injuries to get the win. I’m really proud of this group. We have come a long way from November.”
The Butler women flew past Barton in the second half for an 84-52 victory. It was a six-point game at halftime, but thanks to a 29-5 third quarter for the Grizzlies, Butler (25-8) clinched its second straight Region VI title.
Butler hit a season-high 13 three-pointers in the victory. Sophomore guard RaVon Nero scored a game-high 27 points, and tournament MVP Camille Downs added 18 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
“I personally feel this league is the toughest in the country, just based off numbers alone,” Butler coach Mike Helmer said in a release. “To be able to come into this and do what we did in the second year in the row, it means the world to me, because I know how hard this is. If we play our defense and play our style, I like our chances against anybody.”